Differential actuating mechanism



March 25, 1952 v pp -r 2,590,345

DIFFERENTIAL ACTUATING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 31, 1950 2 SHEETS-SIEET l 11W TOR.

March 25, 1952 v, fiEPPERT 2,590,345

DIFFERENTIAL ACTUATING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 31 1950 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 lr llllill .lllhllllllllllllllllll.l IIIIIIHIIHH- INVENTOR.

Patented Mar. 25, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OUFFICE DIFFERENTIAL ACTUATING- MECHANISM Richard V. Reppert, Rochester, N. Y. Application October 31, 1950, Serial No. 193,146 2 Claims. (01. 23579) This invention relates to improvements in calculating machines and more particularly to register actuating devices therefore.

The general object is, to provide register actuating devices of simple and novel construction, selectable for operation by ten digit keys and adapted to receive reciprocatory movement of uniform extent and of harmonic nature from a power source and to impart rotary movement of harmonic nature and of varying extent to the register wheels during both strokes of a reciprocatory movement; furthermore, such movement may be selectively imparted to the register wheels in either adding or subtracting direction of rotation. I

This invention is disclosed as embodied in a form of calculating machine as illustrated in the copending application Serial No. 175,990 to which reference is to be made for a complete disclosure of features of this type of machine, which are not disclosed herein. For this reason it is deemed unnecessary to describe in detail the devices operated to introduce an item to be added or multiplied by the operation of the digit keys and the operation of the devices set in motion by the operation of the multiplying key.

General description The devices for setting up or introducing a multiplicand item are identical with those disclosed in the said copending application and com prises a ten key keyboard of digit keys operable to select and set up fulcrum pins in the various rows of a pin carriage; the carriage being moved step by step between key operations.

In the present invention actuating the levers for the register wheels are actuated to have oscillatory movement, whereby one oscillation represents one operating or adding cycle and to impart movement to the register wheels during both strokes of an oscillatory movement. The extent of oscillatory movement of the levers is accord ing to the digit value of the keys operated to select points of oscillation for the levers and furthermore, one half of a digit value movement -is imparted to the register wheels during the initial stroke of the oscillatory movement and the second half during the return stroke.

This design provides the advantage of a short oscillatory movement of the mass in motion, represented by the actuating levers and associated parts and as the movement is of harmonic nature, that is, with gradual acceleration and gradual deceleration, they can be oscillated with great speed and without shock, noise and wear.

The register is of the well known crawl type, as is shown in the U. S. Patent No. 1,838,180 issued to Clyde Gardner on October 20, 1931, to which patent reference is made for a detail description thereof.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters designate like parts and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a calculating machine and showing in side elevation one embodiment of the register actuatingv device as used in conjunction therewith;

Fig. 2 is a detail side elevation of the register actuating device;

Fig. 3 is a detail front elevation of the gear train actuated by the register actuating device and showing the arrangement for rotating the register wheels; and

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the register actuating device and showing the arrangement for shifting the actuating cams.

A series of register numeral wheels 680 are mounted on a shaft 68! and are geared to a series of register gears 102 on shaft 682 by means of intermediate gears 683 on shaft 684. The gears 102 are subject to rotation in either direction by means of two series of racks 103- and 104, which straddle the gears, so that one series of racks is in mesh with the gears and the other series of racks just clears the teeth of the gears. The racks 163 and 104 are joined to form single members l0! and these members are pivotally mounted to a series of actuating levers which, in turn, connect to levers 9|, pivoted to individual support plates 93 at 92. These plates are clamped onto the transverse member 94 fastened to the frame work of the machine. Springs 100 connected to the actuating levers 90, tend to hold the levers in normal position, with the front ends thereof resting on the transverse member H0. Individual links 95 connect the levers 9| to a rod 97 of a bail-frame, formed by the shaft 91' mounted in the frame plates 2| and 22, and the tWo end levers 98. One end lever 98, connects by a link 99 to the eccentrically mounted pivot I00 on the disc IGI, which is subject to rotation by power means under control of the devices'operated for adding or multiplying operation, as is fully described in my above-mentioned copending application.

A keyboard of ten digit keys I is provided for introducing an item to be added and upon operation sets pins [0, mounted in the various rows of a pin carriage l3, into operative position and simultaneously moves the carriage to bring the pins so set, into operative relation with the actuating levers 90. The pins serve as fulcrum points for the actuating levers 90 and upon operation of the levers by their power means, the levers rock on the pins set in position by the keys and this oscillatory movement imparts reciprocatory movement to the racks 703 and 104. Each stroke of a reciprocatory movement of a rack is in proportion to the one half digit value of the key operated to set the respective fulcrum pin. According to the direction it is desired to rotate a gear I02, either a rack 103 or a rack 104 engages the respective 102 during the initial or up stroke of a reciprocatory movement of the rack and the opposite rack engages the gear during the return stroke, thereby imparting rotation of a full digit value to the gear during a complete reciprocation of the respective rack member IOI.

For the purpose of engaging and disengaging the racks with the gears, links 705 connect the racks I04 with a bail frame rod I06, carried in the side levers "H0, mounted on the shaft I09. One side lever serves as a cam follower and has two rollers 585 in cooperative relation with a set of two cams 1 I2 and I I 3, mounted on a sleeve I I 5. There is another set of two cams H2 and H3 mounted on the sleeve, which is sliclably keyed to the shaft H4, and means are provided to slide the sleeve to thereby position either set of cams into operative relation with the cam follower. The shaft H4 is rotatably mounted in the brackets 22 and I32 and a gear TIB fastened thereto is geared to a gear I20 by means of an intermediate pinion H9 mounted on the bracket I32. The gear I20 is mounted on the power rotated sleeve which carries the above mentioned disc IOI', which operates the actuatmglevers 90 for the register wheels, as described in detail in my above mentioned copending application.

Asshown in Fig. 2, the rotation of the cams I I2 and I I3, will immediately move the I03 series of racks into engagement with the gears 102 and after 180 degrees of rotation will disengage the racks I04 and engage the racks I03. The rotation of the cams is synchronised with the reciprocation of the racks, so that the gears 702 will be rotated clockwise during both strokes of the reciprocatory movement of the racks, as seen in Fig. 2.

To change the direction of rotation of the register gears, the second set of cams (I I2 and I I3) .is positioned in operative relation with the cam follower I I0, by means described hereinafter and these cams are timed to actuate the follower after 180 degrees of rotation to disengage the 704 series of racks and to engage the I03 series of racks. In view of the synchronised reciprocation of the racks, the gears I02 will be rotated anti-clockwise during a reciprocatory movement of the racks, as seen in Fig. 2.

A manually operable lever I20 is conveniently located on the key board and is operable to shift the sleeve H to position either set of cams into operative relation with the follower H0. A link I2I extends from the lever I to a bell crank I22 horizontally mounted on a bracket I23 fastened to the side plate 22 and an arm of the lever carries a pin I25 which extends into a groove I26 in the cam sleeve I I5.

By these means, the operation of the lever I20 will shift the sleeve H5 and position either set of cams in position to actuate the follower and thereby select the direction of rotation of the register gears.

Having now particularly described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States and what I claim is:

1. In a calculating machine having a register, the combination of register gears, two series of racks for rotating the register gears and engageable and disengageable therewith, actuating levers operatively connected to the racks and oscillatable about selectable points of oscillation to thereby vary the reciprocatory movement imparted to the racks by the levers, keys representing the digits, a carriage movable step by step by the operation of the keys, a series of rows of pins representing the digits in the carriage, settable to serve as points of oscillation for the actuating levers, said carriage being movable to bring the rows of pins in succession into operative relation with their setting means, means under control of the. keys to set pins in said carriage in accordance with the digit value of the keys operated, means to engage one series of racks with the register gears during the initial stroke of a reciprocatory movement of the racks and to engage the other series of racks with the register gears, during the return stroke of a reciprocatory movement of the racks, to thereby impart rotation to the register gears in accordance with the digit value of the keys operated during a complete re ciprocatory movement of the racks and means to impart oscillatory movement to the actuating levers about the selected points of oscillation.

2. In a calculating machine having a register, the combination of register gears, two series of racks for rotating the register gears, engageable and disengageable therewith, actuating levers operatively connected to the racks and oscillatable about selectable points of oscillation to thereby vary the reciprocatory movement imparted to the racks by the levers, keys representing the digits, means under control of the keys to select the points of oscillation for the actuating levers to thereby determine the extent of reciprocatory movement imparted to the racks by the actuating levers in accordance with one half of the digit value of the keys operated, means to engage one series of racks with the register gears during the initial stroke of a reciprocatory movement of the racks and to engage the other series of racks with the register gears during the return stroke of a reciprocatory movement of the racks, to thereby impart rotation to the register gears in accordance with the digit value of the keys operated during a complete reciprocatory movement of the racks, means to impart oscillatory movement to the actuating levers about the selected points of oscillation, and manually settable means to select either series of racks for engagement with the register gears during the initial stroke of a reciprocatory movement of the racks and the other series of racks for engagement with the gears during the return stroke of a reciprocatory movement of the racks, to therebybe enabled to rotate the register gears in either direction or for adding or substracting movement as desired.

RICHARD V. REPPERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 176,833 Carroll May 2, 1876 520,040 Ehrlich May 22, 1894 1,028,135 Rein June 4, 1912 1,527,407 Harmsen Feb. 24, 1925 1,568,800 Coss Jan. 5, 1926 

